


The House of Sin

by tumblingStar



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Multi, Rating to be changed as necessary, additional tags to be added as I think of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25498000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tumblingStar/pseuds/tumblingStar
Summary: The house was bought in late March, and from April to late July, Jackie, Ed, and Ling did the renovations and sprucing up themselves. It was livable, it was functional, the roof didn't leak anymore, and it would be the best place to spend their university years in.Ling was an eccentric, Ed didn't wanna deal with apartment neighbors, and Jackie was just hoping that no one would mind if they kept the house after Ling went back to Xing and Ed did… whatever Ed was planning on doing after school.But that was easily four or more years ahead. Jackie was far more preoccupied with another issue; one that presented itself the first night they and the boys had actually moved in.It all started with a scream.This is inspired by a post I saw on tumblr containing this basic premiss, but of course I can't find it again. If you know that one I'm talking about, please let me know so I can link it here and credit the op properly!
Relationships: Greed/Ling Yao, Greed/Original Nonbinary Character, Ling/Original Nonbinary Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	The House of Sin

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the short first chapter. It's not much, but I'm struggling for inspiration with a lot of different things right now.

The house was bought in late March, and from April to late July, Jackie, Ed, and Ling did the renovations and sprucing up themselves—with help from their friends, that is. They were minor things; re-laying flooring (because the floorboards were rotting through), repainting walls (because they were covered in stains that wouldn’t come off), deep-cleaning (because it was a dusty, abandoned mess), carving new railings (because they were broken and rotting as well). By the end the house didn't look too fancy, but it didn't need to. It was livable, it was functional, the roof didn't leak anymore, and it would be the best place to spend their university years in. 

Ed, his brother, and their not-sister Winry had stayed with Jackie and their foster family for high school, all the way from Resembool to Central. But the University of Amestris wasn't in Central; it was just outside of Central, about an hour's commute from the Hugheses' residence and still too far from Resembool to justify moving back. Al was still staying with the Hugheses; he'd gotten accepted to a different school, a closer one—Jackie couldn't recall the name off the top of their head—and Winry and Lan Fan had rented an apartment not too far from the house, disliking the idea of chipping in on the price of an actual house, much less one so far back in the woods and far from neighbors. 

Ling was an eccentric, Ed didn't wanna deal with apartment neighbors, and Jackie was just hoping that no one would mind if they kept the house after Ling went back to Xing and Ed did… whatever Ed was planning on doing after school. 

But that was easily four or more years ahead. Jackie was far more preoccupied with another issue; one that presented itself the first night they and the boys had actually moved in. 

It all started with a scream. 

*** 

Jackie's room was still mostly filled with boxes, though they'd hung up or put away most of their clothes and books by now. Their bed frame wasn't put together; it leaned precariously against the wall, and their mattress sat on the floor right next to an outlet. Classes would start up mid-August, so they had weeks to get their sleep schedule under control, as it was nearing 3 AM and they were only just now finding themself tired. 

Their eyes closed once, twice—their phone fell from their fingers—and then shot wide open when a high-pitched shriek resounded through the house. 

Jackie stumbled to their feet, stripping away the blanket tangled up between their legs, and rushed out of their room. Down the hall Ling was doing the same, making a bee-line directly for them. "Jackie, are you okay?!" 

"That wasn't me," Jackie answered him as he reached them, cupping their upper arms as he looked them over. Thudding footsteps signified Ed's approach, though Ling blocked Jackie's view of him. 

"The fuck was that?!" Ed rasped—clearly having been woken up. 

"We don't know," Jackie tried to tell him—but another scream interrupted them in the middle of their statement. 

The three raced downstairs, where it sounded like the scream had come from. Ling got their first, the swiftest of the group, and turned the light on. The light bulb flickered and flared to life, illuminating the living room, revealing— 

Nothing. 

"What the fuck?" Jackie managed. They could feel their heartbeat in their entire chest, pounding from adrenaline. 

"Did it come from outside?" Ed asked. "Maybe someone needs help." 

They waited a moment. The only sound was their own breathing and the wind against the house. 

"I'm gonna go look around." Ling started for the foyer, presumably for his shoes. Ed followed, but Jackie hung back. 

"I'll hold down the fort?" They said, more like a question, hoping Ling and Ed wouldn't make them come outside. 

"Put on some pants and wait for us down here," Ed instructed. "We'll have our keys, so keep the door locked." 

"If someone knocks, don't open it." Ling added. Jackie nodded and quickly sprinted up the stairs to their room. 

Now fully clothed and armed with their phone and their favorite pocket knife, Jackie tried to distract themself from their worry with YouTube. It was just the creaking of the house settling, the wind blowing across the outside of the house, and Markiplier's voice set to a low volume. It didn't ease Jackie at all; they couldn't focus on the video, jumping at each little noise. 

The yowl of a cat rang out, scaring the bejeezus out of them, and then Granger—Jackie's large, fluffy orange cat of indeterminate species with a smushed face—came barrelling out of the hallway directly into Jackie's arms. He hissed at the darkness from which he'd run, and Jackie—wondering why no one had bothered to check the house more thoroughly before both of the fighters in it decided to head outside—scrambled for the light switch. 

Again, there was nothing. 

Jackie swallowed hard. 

The real estate agent had told them that the reason the house had been abandoned for so long was that no one could stand to be there for more than six months, claiming it was haunted. Previous owners had tried to demolish it and failed because all the machines would stop dead as soon as they crossed the property line. Ed had scoffed, not believing in ghosts, and Ling had grinned and said he wouldn't mind a little adventure. Jackie'd just thought it was paranoia, and that with a little fixing up, the place would be fine. But Granger was not a cat who hissed at nothing or ran away from anything, and the screams had come from inside the house, they'd been almost positive. 

The scraping of a key in the lock made Jackie jump, but a wave of relief washed through them when the door opened and Ling and Ed stepped through. 

"We didn't find anything." Ed said. "Whatever that was, it's not our problem now. I'm going back to bed." 

"Goodnight," Jackie told him quietly as he passed them. How does one convince someone who doesn't believe in the supernatural that their house is haunted? 

"You okay?" Ling asked Jackie, suddenly right beside them. Jackie nodded, not meeting his eyes, and he laid a gentle hand in their lower back. "Still shaken up, huh?" 

"Yeah." Jackie bit their lip. "I don't think… never mind." 

"Don't think it came from outside?" Ling finished for them. "Me neither." 

"Granger was hissing at something." Jackie readjusted the cat in their arms. "Something down the hall. I didn't see anything." 

Ling turned his head to look down the hall himself, then turned the light out. "I think we can consider ourselves lucky if scream is all it's gonna do for now. But if you're too spooked, you can sleep in my room." 

"I don't think that'll be necessary," they could feel their face heating up, that tell-tale sign of a blush, "but thank you for the offer." 

"Mhm," Ling replied cheerfully. He walked them up the stairs and to their doorway, bidding them goodnight before leaving them to try and get some sleep. 

Jackie gave up after a half hour and found themself pushing Ling's bedroom door open. He looked up when they came in, carrying their blanket, a pillow, and their phone and charger, Granger on their heels, and pushed a pillow off his bed to make room for them. 

The sheets smelled overwhelmingly like Ling; clean and nice, like some kind of soap, nothing Jackie would be able to put a name to, and slightly spicy and smokey, like incense. His room had that same incense smell and a burnt-out stick of it rested on his dresser, so they guessed they knew where that came from, but they suspected the clean smell was all Ling. 

. They thought they'd gotten over this crush on him years ago. They were sixteen the last time they'd let themself feel so weak and nervous around him; they were twenty now. 

Deciding to chalk it up to a reaction from this being their first time ever sharing a bed with someone who wasn’t their foster sister seeking shelter from nightmares, much less someone as attractive as Ling, they pushed all of their breath from their lungs and touched the tip of their tongue behind their upper front teeth. They tapped their finger against the mattress to count: four seconds to inhale, seven seconds to hold it, eight seconds for exhaling. The smell of Ling flooded their lungs and helped to ease them as much as the breathing exercises did; he was one of their best friends, and they trusted him to keep them safe from whatever the fuck might be in this house. 

In for four seconds, hold for seven, out for eight. Sleep was summoning them at last, and they did their best to heed the call. In for four, hold for seven, our for eight. Ling's arm slipped over their waist, a warm and grounding weight that they appreciated, and they smiled in lieu of a thank you, in case he was watching. Four, seven, eight. Four, seven…


End file.
